


Caring for Birds and Other Problems

by Youkoartemis



Series: Dragon!Ryan AU [1]
Category: Rooster Teeth/Achievement Hunter RPF
Genre: Alternate Universe, Fluff, Gets a little steamy at one point, Hybrid AU, M/M, Slow-Forming Romance, So that's a thing, bird!gavin, but it gets just a little bit hot-n-heavy, but still, doesn't progress beyond making out, dragon!Ryan, mostly blind!Ryan, rt hybrid AU, shameless fluff, well technically he's more of a large cave lizard with wings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-06-25
Updated: 2015-06-25
Packaged: 2018-04-06 03:13:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,480
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4205793
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Youkoartemis/pseuds/Youkoartemis
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ryan lives his life alone, and he likes it that way. Or at least he lived his life alone until a certain bird hybrid suddenly appears in his life. Nothing is the same after that.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Caring for Birds and Other Problems

**Author's Note:**

> This is the result of a prompt I was given by an anon on Tumblr.
> 
> The prompt: “Nice! If you're up for it, it's a Freewood prompt, where Ryan from any verse has to take care of Bird!Gavin because he got displaced from his own verse, and the resulting hectic lives following it. It's kind of an open ended prompt so have fun with it--”
> 
> I decided to use my cave dragon!Ryan AU for this, because he’s a sweet, confused little puppy of a dragon-human hybrid, and he and Gav would be taking care of each other.
> 
> Anyway, I typed this all out in one sitting, so if there's errors, that's why, and I'll most likely be going back through and editing things as I find them in subsequent re-reads. I hope you enjoy the story! =)

Dragon!Ryan is based on scholarlykiwi’s design for a dragon-hybrid Ryan, btw. You can see my fanart of him (with links to scholarlykiwi’s designs for him) [here](http://youkoartemis.tumblr.com/post/105454442956/weinmanart-this-piece-is-based-off-of).

* * *

 

There was a new scent in Ryan’s home. He wasn’t sure he liked it. He heard loud squawking coming from that direction, too. A bird, perhaps? It smelled sort of like bird. But how would a bird get down this deep?

He cautiously approached the scent, the sounds of squawking and flapping growing louder as he crept closer. Finally, he could dimly spot a figure at the end of a tunnel; he apparently gotten one of its - his? The figure smelled like what Ryan remembered “male” smelling like - limbs caught in some debris, and was trying to pull free.

The trapped appendage matched one on the other side of the figure’s back - not arms, they were too...feathery? And they weren’t positioned right for arms. So were they...wings? They _were!_ This figure had wings! _Feathery_ wings! Like the angels in Mimi’s books, way back when!

Ryan had always loved the stories and pictures of angels; they had wings, like he did, only prettier. Was this figure an angel? But what was an angel doing here? And why were they stuck? Shouldn’t an angel be able to free themselves from a little rubble? Maybe it was a baby angel? But it wasn’t that small...

Either way, Ryan decided to help, and crept closer, until he was right by the winged figure. The figure smelled...nice. Pleasant. Sort of fruity. Ryan liked it. Ryan flicked out his forked tongue to get a better taste of the smell, running the tongue over the vomeronasal organ on the roof of his mouth to process the taste-scent; yes, definitely fruity, with some flowers, just for good measure. Very pleasant.

The figure startled, letting out a loud squawk that made Ryan flinch at the volume.

“Wot?! Is someone there?!” The figure demanded in an oddly accented voice - Ryan had never heard the like before. Granted, he hadn’t heard many voices at all, but this one sounded _particularly_ odd.

Ryan agonized over how to respond, wracking his mind for all the words Mimi had taught him when she was alive.

“...Yeth...” Ryan answered after finding the right word. He didn’t think it came out right, and tried again, “Yesth. Yesssth?” He continued repeating the one syllable word, trying to make his tongue and mouth cooperate without accidentally stabbing his tongue with one of his very sharp teeth.

“Can- can you help me get unstuck?” The figure interrupted Ryan’s repetitions.

“Yesth.” Ryan stated more confidently. He still didn’t think the word sounded right, but it was good enough for now. He paused as something occurred to him. “...Pleasthe don’t sthcream.”

The figure paused, as though confused.

“Wot? Why would I- OH JESUS!” The figure yelped as Ryan stepped closer, revealing his tall, broad-shouldered frame, wings, tail, horns, stripes, and scales.

Ryan flinched back.

“I sthaid not to sthcream...” He protested weakly. “I even sthaid “pleathe”...”

The figure seemed sheepish, head ducking down a bit.

“Oh. Right. Sorry. You jus’ startled me, is all; I didn’ expect someone with your kinda hybrid-y stuff. S’plains the lisp, though.”

Ryan cautiously approached once more, reaching out his clawed hands to take hold of the rubble and almost casually lift it off of the figure’s trapped wing.

The stranger immediately pulled the wing back once they could, quickly checking the wing over as Ryan let the debris fall back down.

The figure looked up at Ryan.

“Thanks, mate; m’name’s Gavin. What’s yours?”

Ryan paused. Name? Oh! Right! Mimi said people use names to identify themselves! Ryan thought this was silly, but then, Mimi _had_ given him a name, hadn’t she?

“...Ryan.” He answered finally, leaning forward and sniffing Gavin curiously. Yes, Gavin was “male,” he decided finally.

Gavin grinned at him.

“Thanks for savin’ me, Ryan.”

“You’re welcome.” Ryan answered, after a long pause during which he stared awkwardly at Gavin with his head tilted, trying to remember how he was supposed to respond.

Gavin shifted uncomfortably.

“Uh, don’t s’pose you know the way out, do you?” He asked hopefully.

He wanted...out? Well, Ryan supposed that most creatures didn’t live beneath the surface like he did; Mimi hadn’t.

He nodded, and turned to head off.

“Hey! Wait!” Gavin squawked, running after Ryan, who paused in curiosity at Gavin’s shout. “Don’t leave wi’out me, you donut!”

“...Donut?” Ryan asked in confusion. What the fuck was a donut? He’d never heard of it.

“Yeah.”

Ryan made a confused sound, but gave up; clearly a “donut” was some weird form of “lingo” used by surface-dwellers.

* * *

 

As they traveled, Gavin asked a lot of questions about Ryan, who answered them as best he could; Mimi hadn’t raised him to be rude, after all! In return, Gavin chattered on about himself and his life. Apparently he was something called a “slow motion photographer,” whatever _that_ meant. When asked, Gavin went on a long talk about cameras, and videos, and “frames per second,” all of which left Ryan very confused and lost; he regretted asking.

“Hey, Ryan, can we stop for a bit? I’m bloody _exhausted_ from all this walking.”

Ryan obligingly stopped, turning to face Gavin, who had flopped down to the ground in a heap.

“I dunno how you stand it down here - it’s so _dark_ an’ _gloomy!_ How d’you even see?!”

“I don’t.” Ryan replied, crouching down next to Gavin, tail curling around his feet and hands as his wings flexed and folded behind him.

“Wot? You don’t see? Then how do you know where you’re going?!”

“I sthmell. And hear.” Ryan answered simply.

“Oh.” Gavin uttered dumbly. “Well, then do you know how much further we have to walk b’fore we get out?”

“Long.”

Gavin groaned dramatically and flopped over, wings and limbs splaying everywhere across the floor. Ryan resisted the urge to touch Gavin’s feathers, certain it would be rude if he touched them without permission.

“Of bloody course.” Gavin complained.

There was silence for a while, until...

“Hey Ryan?”

Ryan made a noise of acknowledgement.

“Is there anyone else down here? Y’know, besides us?”

“Anyone...else...”

“...Guess I’ll take that as a no.”

“Yes.”

“Wot?”

“Yes others.”

“Wot? Really?” Gavin asked, sitting up. He sounded excited. “Can I meet ‘em?”

“No.” Ryan denied immediately.

“What? Why not?!” Gavin demanded, sounding upset, “Are they mean?”

 _“Very.”_ Ryan stressed, “They kill and eat you.”

Gavin stilled.

“...Oh. Yeah, alright, that’s a good reason t’ not meet ‘em.” He agreed, sounding numb, “Also s’plains your social skills...” He added in a low mutter. Ryan got the feeling he wasn’t meant to have heard it. He chose not to remark on it as a result.

* * *

 

While down there, Ryan would briefly leave Gavin to go hunting. He’d bring back enough food for the both of them. Or so he thought, but apparently Gavin couldn’t just tear open the flesh of small creatures like Ryan could.

“I can’t just eat this _raw,_ Ry! I gotta build a fire, first!”

“Why?”

“Because it’s bloody _disgusting_ otherwise, innit?”

 _“...Why?”_ Ryan asked again, bewildered. He tilted his head to one side and stared in Gavin’s direction with wide eyes.

“Because it _is!_ An’ because there could be all _sorts_ of minging diseases in this stuff!” Gavin explained, sounding outraged.

Ryan just stared at him.

“Oh, just go get me somethin’ I can light on fire t’ cook this on.” Gavin huffed.

So Ryan obliged. He couldn’t quite remember exactly what was needed for a fire, but he remembered it needed to be dry. So he collected up some dry things and brought them back; little scraps of fabric, or very old bones.

Gavin lit a fire, and started cooking his food after getting Ryan to skin and gut it. Ryan happily ate the guts, but wondered why Gavin didn’t want them. He shrugged it off - everything about this winged man was weird; what was a little _more_ weirdness?

* * *

 

As Gavin slept, Ryan noticed him trembling slightly, wings huddled in close. Ryan’s heat pits detected that Gavin was colder than what Ryan assumed was his normal temperature. So Ryan curled up next to him and draped one wing over him in an attempt to warm him up.

Almost immediately after he did this, the bird man rolled over so he was pressed against Ryan’s side, huddling against him for warmth. Gavin’s feathers were very soft.

Gavin eventually stopped trembling, and Ryan let himself relax into a light sleep, keeping alert for any changes in the environment that might mean threats.

When Gavin awoke, he did so slowly. Sure, he was sleeping on a hard, uncomfortable surface, but he was _warm_ and oddly comfortable, pressed against a hard-yet-soft surface that radiated warmth.

He opened his eyes, and noticed that it was _Ryan_ he was pressed up against. He yelped and attempted to scramble back, only to notice that Ryan’s wing was covering him, too.

Ryan woke up and blinked lazily at Gavin, making a slightly sleepy noise of curiosity, wondering what was wrong.

“Ryan! Why were you sleepin’ next to me?” Uh-oh, he sounded upset. What had Ryan done?

“You were cold.”

There was a pause as Gavin digested this information, followed by a sheepish “Oh. Well alright then. Thanks, I guess.”

Ryan hummed softly in acknowledgement of Gavin’s thanks.

* * *

 

They eventually reached the surface, and Ryan didn’t want to leave his cave; the outside was scary! So much open space up above! Terrifying.

But Gavin coaxed him out, and because Ryan didn’t want to leave Gavin, who was the only source of positive contact Ryan had had since Mimi died, Ryan very reluctantly followed.

Ryan had no idea where they were going anymore, so they just picked a random direction and started walking, Gavin complaining endlessly about just about everything, but also visibly excited to be going “on an adventure.” Gavin was weird, Ryan reaffirmed in his mind.

As they set up camp, Gavin turned to Ryan.

“Y’know, you’re an alright-lookin’ bloke.”

Ryan blinked.

“...Thanksth?” He asked, confused.

“Don’ mention it.” Gavin replied, confusing Ryan further.

And then Gavin started running his fingers through his wings, piquing Ryan’s interest.

“What doing?”

“What _are you_ doing.” Gavin corrected absently, as he’d started doing after getting fed up with Ryan’s lack of proper grammar, “An’ I’m preening.”

“Preening?” Ryan repeated, tilting his head to one side and watching with fascination.

“Yeah - I’m goin’ through my feathers an’ makin’ sure they’re all in the right places.” Gavin explained.

“Oh! Like I do with my scalesth.” Ryan realized, eyes widening briefly. He then paused.

“Do you...want help?” He asked almost shyly - he desperately wanted the chance to touch Gavin’s wings - they were so soft!

Gavin paused, and then agreed, so Ryan moved over to sit behind Gavin and started gently running his fingers through the bird hybrid’s soft feathers, checking for any feathers that felt out-of-place. He asked frequently for confirmation that he was doing it right, and made sure to be very mindful of his claws and strength.

After a while, Gavin stopped moving and seemed to relax dramatically, letting out soft chirps and coos while Ryan worked. Ryan was confused, but took this to be a good sign (besides - he didn’t want to stop touching Gavin’s soft feathers).

They fell asleep curled up together.

* * *

 

A few nights later and Gavin returned the favor for Ryan, helping the dragon man examine all of his scales.

Ryan shivered under Gavin’s warm touch, not used to nonviolent contact. It was nice, though. And then Gavin’s fingers brushed over his gills, making Ryan startle slightly and his gills flutter softly.

Gavin gasped and cooed in delight.

“Ryan! You’ve got little gills, Ryan!” He exclaimed softly, audibly delighted. He ran a finger over Ryan’s gills once more, making them flutter again.

Ryan hunched his shoulders and flexed his wings a bit, not wanting Gavin to touch his sensitive gills - the contact made him feel funny, and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

“Oh, sorry, does it hurt when I do that?” Gavin asked, noticing Ryan’s reaction.

“No... Jus’ feelsth weird.”

“Good weird or bad weird?”

“Not bad, justht... _weird.”_ Ryan admitted.

“Alright, won’t do it again, then.”

“Thanksth.”

It was still really nice having Gavin’s fingers running across his scales. It was almost like what Ryan imagined having a mate was like. Ryan thought Gavin would make a good mate; he just wasn’t sure how to go about courting him.

* * *

 

Thankfully it turned out he didn’t need to court Gavin, because Gavin decided to court _him._ They’d just helped each other stay in tip-top shape, and Gavin was leaning back against Ryan’s chest, sharing body warmth with him by the fire.

Then Gavin was looking into Ryan’s mostly-blind eyes, gently holding the sides of Ryan’s face.

“Hey Ryan?”

“Yo?” Ryan replied, tilting his head as much as he could while held in Gavin’s grip.

Gavin swallowed thickly, the sound loud in Ryan’s sensitive ears.

“Ryan, can I- can I kiss you?” He asked, stumbling slightly over his words.

“Kiss...?” Ryan remembered what that was, and some of what that symbolized. He didn’t want to get his hopes up, though. “Um, sure...?”

Gavin grinned and leaned in, pressing his lips against Ryan’s in a short, sweet, and entirely chaste kiss. It was nice.

“May I kiss you again?” Gavin asked, voice huskier and making Ryan shiver slightly.

Ryan consented, and they kissed again, for longer this time, lips sliding inexpertly against each other as they pressed closer. Gavin’s tongue ran across his bottom lip and he opened his mouth, and then _oh my_ Gavin’s tongue was in his mouth, and Gavin’s scent was doing weird things to Ryan’s body, and...

Was this how mating started? Ryan wasn’t sure, but it was pleasant. He preferred the cuddling they started doing after that, though; maybe when he was in season they could do the actual mating part of being mates.

Wait. _Were_ they mates?

“Gavin.” Ryan started, “Are we mates, now?”

“Y’mean like friends mates or like _dating_ mates?”

“Life partnersth.”

“Oh! Uh, yeah, I guess. If y’wanna be.”

“Yesth!” Ryan replied rather fervently, causing Gavin to grin widely.

“Guess we are, then.” The bird hybrid agreed, causing Ryan to let out a deep, rumbling purr and gently bump his head against Gavin’s before rubbing his cheek against his mate’s.

Life was wonderful. Sure, they still had no idea where they were, but there was plenty of food and water, and Ryan could dig a nice hole/cave for them to live in, if it came to that. They could make a life here, and maybe have some children, if Gavin wanted. Ryan was happy, and so was Gavin.

They’d take good care of each other, and life was good.


End file.
